Higgs's PC campaign spending leaned on populists, westerners
Party’s election expenses show payments to consultants aligned with former N.B. premier’s rightward shift
The 2024 New Brunswick Progressive Conservative election campaign leaned heavily — and spent heavily — on campaign consultants with socially conservative and populist connections, particularly in Western Canada, newly public documents reveal.
Financial returns for the PC Party show six-figure spending on services provided by Steve Outhouse, the party's campaign manager, and his company Intercede Communications.
Another Prairie-based company, Mash Strategy, whose CEO has raised the spectre of western separatism, also worked on the campaign.
Both companies also did taxpayer-funded work for the New Brunswick government when PC Premier Blaine Higgs was in power.
"I want to be sure our perspective is not limited to one region, one province," Higgs said of the government contracts in April 2024.
How the New Brunswick PCs borrowed from western populism in 2024 campaignFor pre-election and campaign services, Outhouse personally billed the party $154,843 in 2024, while Intercede billed $413,052.
Outhouse's government salary as principal secretary to the premier was $124,656 from April to September 2024.
Mash was paid $31,842 by the PC Party for campaign services. It had a government communications contract worth $72,000 last year.
Mash's CEO Derek Robinson was the chief of digital strategy for former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall from 2011 to 2018 and later joined the Buffalo Project, an organization that supports a more bullish approach to federalism.
It advocated Alberta and Saskatchewan taking control of some policy areas now under federal jurisdiction, including pensions and immigration — which Robinson told a podcast in 2020 was designed to discourage western separatist sentiment.
Higgs
spoke at a rally in Quispamsis before his defeat last fall. In his
campaign for re-election, he endorsed Faytene Grasseschi, just to his
right, an Alberta-born Christian conservative activist, as a PC
candidate. (Mikael Mayer/Radio-Canada)
"If we don't get a fair deal within Confederation within a decent period of time here, I think the flames of separation are going to be burning much hotter in the very near future," Robinson said.
Outhouse is originally from Nova Scotia. He ran Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's winning election campaign in 2023 and two federal Conservative leadership campaigns by social conservative Leslyn Lewis.
Higgs insisted last year that the veteran campaign consultant could hold a taxpayer-funded government job in his office while preparing for the PC government's re-election campaign outside work hours.
"The separation between the night duties and the day duties would be very clear," Higgs said in April 2024.
Mash Strategy started advising his office in April 2023, the same month the Higgs government began reviewing Policy 713, a gender identity policy setting minimum standards for ensuring safe and inclusive schools for LGBTQ students.
Higgs's decision to weaken those protections led to accusations he was shifting to the right, and later that year he embraced Faytene Grasseschi, the Alberta-born Christian conservative activist and broadcaster, as a PC candidate.
On
election night, PC campaign manager Steve Outhouse said Higgs's changes
to Policy 713, about gender identity in schools, were popular with the
electorate, but not a 'deciding factor for most people in the election.' (Roger Cosman/CBC)
"I'll call it a movement, I'll call it a revolution," he said of her candidacy in December 2023.
Outhouse told CBC News on election night last October that Higgs's changes to Policy 713 were "actually very popular overall with the electorate but that wasn't the deciding factor for most people in the election."
Outhouse did not respond to an interview request from CBC News about the PC Party financing return. Nor did party president Erika Hachey.
All registered provincial political parties must file annual financial returns with Elections New Brunswick under the Political Process Financing Act, which regulates fundraising and election spending.
The PC Party's 142-page return for 2024 shows several paid election workers from Western Canada, including:
Lianne Bell, the chief of staff to the Speaker of Alberta's legislature and a former staffer to Premier Danielle Smith when she was leader of the province's Wildrose Party.
Tasha Schindel, who worked on Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's 2019 election campaign.
Daniel Kostek, an Alberta student who was an advance co-ordinator for Higgs's campaign tour and who is involved with a U.S.-based libertarian group called Students for Liberty.
The document also shows the party paid some right-leaning media outlets to raise money for Higgs.
Rebel News received $11,730 for election advertising at the same time it was providing positive coverage of Higgs.
Last fall the New Brunswick Media Co-op reported that Rebel News had sent out a fundraising appeal for Higgs by email, linking to a website seeking donations for the PCs.
"Blaine Higgs stands up for families," the site said. "We need to stand up for Higgs!"
The party also paid $2,459 to The Counter Signal, a site launched by Rebel News alumnus Kean Bexte that publishes pro-Conservative content.
It paid $5,332 to Maple Leaf Strategies, a communications firm listed as a partner of the Conservative networking conference Canada Strong and Free, founded by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning.
Higgs spoke at one of the conferences in April 2024. Cards were left on the seats urging attendees to donate money to his campaign.
Not all the Conservatives who pitched in with the Higgs campaign were western-based.
An Ontario numbered company owned by Chad Bowie, a Nova Scotian who works in Ottawa, was paid $89,547 for fundraising services.
Montreal-based Conway Direction Public Relations, headed by longtime Ottawa Conservative staffer Matthew Conway, was paid $20,454.
Conway also worked for Ontario cabinet minister Caroline Mulroney, the daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
A Toronto-based company, Knocks Engagement Ltd., was paid $46,000 for supplying professionally trained employees to knock on doors to identify PC supporters — a task normally undertaken by unpaid party volunteers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
How young men are changing what conservatism looks like in Canada
Gen-Z is heading in opposite directions politically: women turning left, while men go right
Adam Beattie was walking with a friend in downtown Vancouver on a rainy winter day in 2023 when a stranger, who appeared to be high on fentanyl, punched him in the head.
They reported the attack to police, but Beattie says he was told that even if arrested, the attacker would likely be released a few hours later.
Beattie dropped the matter, but ended up moving to a Vancouver suburb where the rent was cheaper and he would feel safer.
"It was a radicalizing experience," Beattie said.
The assault confirmed for Beattie something he had long suspected: that the promise of a secure middle-class existence had been undone by Liberal policies aimed primarily at older generations.
"We're on the front line of all the crap that's going on," Beattie, 30, said of his fellow male Gen-Zers and young millennials.
"The only people who are capable of living life without having to face that, frankly, are an older generation who live in protected neighbourhoods, who bought into those neighbourhoods when those neighbourhoods were inexpensive."
After the attack, Beattie, who was working for B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad at the time, started using his social media accounts to discuss crime and drug policy.
Now, with more than 180,000 followers, he's one of the most popular conservative influencers in Canada on TikTok, where he uses the name Robin Skies, a holdover from his days as a musician.
In recent videos, Beattie has accused boomers of not giving a "flying fudge" about younger generations and argues "Canada is 100 per cent broken." He has described Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's vision for the country as "f--king glorious."
Young influencers like Beattie have refashioned what conservatism looks and sounds like in Canada. It's an energy that Poilievre tapped into as he rebuilt the Conservative Party following its defeat in the 2021 election.
'Young
men are kind of moving in one direction in this country, and everybody
else is moving in the other,' said David Coletto, founder and CEO of the
polling firm Abacus Data. (Ousama Farag/CBC)
Gen-Z support made the Tories look edgy, connected to digital natives and poised to capture the anti-incumbent vibe that ricocheted across democracies after the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the second term of U.S. President Donald Trump has upended the polling lead Poilievre carried into 2025, young men have, so far, remained an unshakeable part of his base.
"The demographic most likely today to say they're going to vote Conservative in our polling are men under the age of 30," said David Coletto, founder and CEO of the polling firm Abacus Data in Ottawa. "That is a complete change to the last few decades of Canadian politics."
But the political priorities of these young men do not seem to be shared by women of the same age.
Not only are they supporting different political parties, there is gathering evidence that young men and women see the world in fundamentally different ways.
Not your parents' conservatives
In every federal election since 2015, voters aged 18 to 30 have overwhelmingly tended to back either the Liberals or the NDP, according to self-reported data from the Canadian Election Study, a survey with a representative sample of Canadians run by social scientists before and after federal elections.
Since the 2021 election, however, polling has suggested young men are increasingly likely to support the Conservatives.
A poll conducted by Abacus Data in late March suggested 41 per cent of men under 30 backed the Conservatives, compared to 23 per cent of women in the same age bracket.
Former
prime minister Stephen Harper, right, and Conservative Party Leader
Pierre Poilievre raise hands at a rally during a campaign stop in
Edmonton on Monday. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
That 18-point gap stands in marked contrast to the results of a poll Abacus conducted on the eve of the 2021 election, which suggested 27 per cent of young men and 29 per cent of young women would vote Tory.
But there are signs these young people aren't "conservative" in the same way that, say, Brian Mulroney or even Stephen Harper were.
In a survey of 1,500 people conducted in December, Abacus suggested 34 per cent of young men could be categorized as economically progressive but culturally conservative.
According to Abacus Data, these are young men who support raising taxes on high-income earners and want to see governments provide a range of social services. At the same time, they also support cracking down on illegal immigration, are concerned about free speech online and oppose trans athletes playing on gendered sports teams that match their gender identity.
Only 11 per cent of young women, on the other hand, were listed as economically progressive but culturally conservative in the Abacus data. It was on those cultural questions where the genders diverged.
"I think young men are most resistant right now to change on a cultural level, not so much on an economic one," Coletto said.
"I think they feel very anxious about the scale and the speed at which change is happening, particularly in societal power structures."
They’re young, male and swinging conservativeDeepening divide
The modern conservative movement in North America is often thought of as a "fusion" between social and fiscal conservatives. But in recent years, cultural conservatives have come to occupy an important place in the movement, changing the focal point of conservative politics in the process.
"The extent to which the [conservative] coalition has changed … would be very shocking to people," said Ginny Roth, a partner at Crestview Strategy in Toronto and a conservative activist who served as director of communications for Poilievre's leadership campaign.
Cultural conservatism skews younger and male. It accepts the need for a social safety net but is concerned about the breakdown of social order, which it blames on the rise of liberal or progressive values.
A
man in a U.S.-themed blazer and red pants takes a cellphone photo at
bottom right, as demolition begins on the Black Lives Matter mural in
Washington on March 10. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)
It is a conservatism that is less likely to invoke religion or economics in public policy arguments, and focus instead on values, such as family or freedom.
"Conservatives for a time were scared, I think, of putting forward a set of values. They sort of fought on the territory of saying, let's just go back to a … sort of small-L liberal neutral orientation," Roth said.
"Poilievre is more fearless. He actually thinks that Conservatives can win and build a bigger, more successful coalition with new voters in it, if it speaks to a values-oriented worldview."
Underlying the cultural conservative mindset is also the belief that society has lurched radically to the left in recent years, propelled by progressive social movements such as #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and Land Back.
'The
extent to which the [conservative] coalition has changed … would be
very shocking to people,' said Ginny Roth, former director of
communications for Poilievre's leadership campaign. (Ousama Farag/CBC)
Many young conservatives see themselves pushing back against "wokeness," which they see as a social justice concept that has been pursued at the expense of other priorities.
"The only reason why young people on the right are talking about all of this woke stuff is because people on the left are obsessed with it," Beattie said. "Like, I don't care. I want a job. I want a house. I want a family. I want safety."
In a TikTok video from January that's been viewed 1.7 million times, Beattie says Canadian women don't feel safe because of the country's "broken immigration system," adding that some cultures are "just willing to scare the hoes," a reference to a meme.
Several commenters accused him of racism, an accusation Beattie rejects.
"Being woke requires you to lie about naked truths to avoid offending people," he told CBC News. "Pointing out that not all cultures share our values around things like women's rights isn't racist — it's necessary."
Backlash politics
A form of backlash politics has taken root in a number of the world's democracies, where young men are backing conservative parties as young women opt for more progressive options.
In 2022, for example, a large majority of young men backed the self-described "anti-feminist" presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol in South Korea.
Last November, Donald Trump won a large majority of young men in the U.S., flipping a demographic that had largely voted Democrat in 2020.
An
Abacus poll from earlier this year found that even after U.S. President
Donald Trump slapped punishing tariffs on Canada, 38 per cent of men
under 30 still had a positive view of the president. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
In Germany, young men helped propel the far-right Alternative for Germany party to a second-place finish in the February elections. Young German women were more likely to back the far-left party.
"I think there is a risk that progressive activism has made some men feel alienated," said Alice Evans, a senior lecturer at King's College London who is currently writing a book on the global gender gap.
That said, Evans noted that "in many of the countries where I've seen data, the biggest shift is actually women, young women becoming much more progressive, whereas men [are] more stable."
The CBC News analysis of data from the Canadian Election Study revealed evidence that a similar gap is opening up among younger Canadians.
Between 2004 and 2011, young people gave similar answers to the question: "How much should be done for women?"
By the 2015 election, however, the number of women 30-and-under answering more (either "much more" or "somewhat more") had increased, while the number of men answering the same had flatlined.
The same trend appears for those answering "much more" to the question: "How much should be done for racial minorities?"
Online tribes
The most frequent explanation experts have offered for the emerging gender gap, both in Canada and abroad, is the widespread use of social media whose algorithms are designed to direct specific content at specific audiences.
"Men and women [are] spending less time together, socializing less, not necessarily empathizing with each other…. Instead, they're immersing themselves in these kinds of distorted online tribes," said Evans.
And backlash politics — the sense that society has swung too far toward progressive causes — is a recurring theme in the corners of the internet that cater to young men.
The so-called manosphere, with podcasts by Joe Rogan or Jordan Peterson as prime examples, was credited by Trump supporters for boosting the candidate's reputation among young men.
For young conservatives, online spaces offer a respite from the liberal orthodoxy they feel dominates other spheres of society.
"It's nice being in an environment where you can just say what you want and be who you are, and people aren't going to police you," said Beattie, who lists George Orwell's 1984 as among his favourite books.
Poilievre has shown he is familiar with these online worlds. His social media posts can sometimes resemble manosphere-style podcasts, and he has twice appeared on Peterson's show.
"When Pierre Poilievre goes on Jordan Peterson's podcast, it's a strategy, I think, designed entirely to speak to that cohort, which is not a normal conservative audience," said Coletto.
'Men
and women [are] spending less time together, socializing less, not
necessarily empathizing with each other…. Instead, they're immersing
themselves in these kinds of distorted online tribes,' said Alice Evans,
a social scientist at King's College London. (Luke Wolagiewicz/CBC)
This cohort, however, is not always aligned with mainstream public opinion.
An Abacus poll from earlier this year found that even after Trump slapped punishing tariffs on Canada, 38 per cent of men under 30 still had a positive view of the president. And whereas only 22 per cent of Canadians have a positive impression of Trump's billionaire adviser Elon Musk, that number rises to 42 per cent for young men.
"Young men are kind of moving in one direction in this country, and everybody else is moving in the other," said Coletto.
For Gen-Z conservatives, though, worrying about Trump and tariffs appears to be a distraction from the deeper cultural crisis being wrought by progressive values.
"The idea that people, specifically of an older generation, might be willing to give a mandate to Mark Carney because essentially Donald Trump bruised their ego, while their kids are struggling to pay rent and to buy a house and to afford the basics, is frustrating, to say the least," said Beattie.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from CBC senior research analyst Zack Krastel
Poilievre catches heat from opponents for talk of 'biological clocks'
Conservative leader says couples running out of time to start families due to unaffordable housing
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is facing criticism for saying too many young people can't buy affordable homes before their "biological clocks" have run out — a comment he's made in the past, but one that's igniting online pushback now as he faces more scrutiny in this election campaign.
The comment has also drawn criticism from the Liberals and NDP, who say that sort of language is outdated and demeaning toward women in particular, given the sensitivities around fertility issues.
Poilievre's supporters say the outrage is political correctness run amok, and argue he's highlighting a real concern: Some couples are starting families later or having fewer children than they want because of the high cost of living, a claim backed up by Statistics Canada data.
Poilievre referred to biological clocks during a news conference Monday as he was defending his campaign's decision to focus on affordability issues such as housing, even as the country stares down U.S. President Donald Trump and the tariffs threat.
Speaking to reporters about what he calls the lost Liberal decade with runaway housing costs, Poilievre said he will stand up for the "36-year-old couple whose biological clock is running out faster than they can afford to buy a home and have kids."
Poilievre asked if he will make changes to Conservative campaign leadership It's a riff on what he said last week at a rally in Stoney Creek, Ont., when he lamented that some millennials are "desperate to buy a home and start a family before the biological clock runs out in your mid-30s."
In December, Poilievre said he feels for the "39-year-old woman, desperate to have kids but unable to buy a home in which to raise them, her biological clock running out."
In a pre-campaign interview with academic Jordan Peterson, Poilievre also referred to aging women and their biological clocks, and the issue of housing affordability.
The term "biological clock" and any talk of it "running out" is generally used to refer to a woman's declining fertility due to a reduction in egg quality and quantity as she grows older.
'Our biological clocks are none of your business'
Liberal candidate Yvan Baker said the Conservative leader is "using a woman's fertility as a punchline in a political attack," calling it "outdated and harmful rhetoric."
Julie Dzerowicz, another Liberal contender, said in a social media post: "Our biological clocks are none of your business."
Speaking to reporters in Winnipeg at Liberal Leader Mark Carney's campaign stop Tuesday, candidate Ginette Lavack said Polievre's comments are "completely unacceptable."
"These are not comments that should be made by anyone. A person should have the right to choose the timing of when they'll make those life decisions. It's not a comment or a conversation to have publicly like that," Lavack said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was blunt when asked about the remark: "I don't think any woman wants to hear Pierre Poilievre talking about their body."
A spokesperson for Poilievre, Katy Merrifield, said the leader was "clearly referencing couples who want to have kids."
"Anyone trying to twist this into something controversial is ignoring the real challenge young couples who want kids are faced with — holding off because every dollar is going to rent and groceries because of skyrocketing costs incurred after ten years of failed Liberal policies. This isn't hypothetical. It's real life — and Pierre is speaking directly to it," Merrifield said.
The partisan pushback comes as polls show Poilievre does have a problem connecting with women, especially younger ones.
A recent Angus Reid Institute (ARI) poll found Poilievre has the support of just 27 per cent of women respondents ages 18 to 34. That's less than the 50 per cent who say they're going for the Liberals.
About 73 per cent of younger women who responded to that poll said they have an unfavourable opinion of the Conservative leader or don't know enough about him to weigh in.
"The clock and the pressure is on the Conservatives to try and make inroads with women," said Shachi Kurl, president of ARI.
Comments being 'torqued': Conservative strategist
But some Conservative women say Poilievre is right on the larger issue of fertility and housing: The surge in housing costs over the last decade — home prices have effectively doubled in that time — has made it more difficult to settle down, buy an affordable home and start a family before hitting a certain age.
Poilievre speaks to the crowd at a rally in Fredericton on Monday. (Stephen MacGillivray/Canadian Press)
Kate Harrison, a Conservative strategist, said Poilievre's comments are being "torqued in a way, largely by men, that is very, very uncomfortable and detached from the reality that a lot of women are facing."
"If you think that it is misogynistic to say that women and couples deal with the challenges of a biological clock because they cannot afford housing, I would really encourage you to go talk to more millennial women, because this is a reality," she said in an interview with CBC News.
Statistics Canada has data showing in 2022, 38 per cent of young adults ages 20 to 29 didn't think they could afford to have a child in the next three years, and 32 per cent did not believe they would have access to suitable housing to start a family in that same period.
"The rising cost of living is forcing some to make major sacrifices," StatsCan said in its report. "Between disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as high inflation and interest rates, this group has faced disproportionate challenges to their quality of life."
There's also some research from Cardus, a religiously focused think-tank, that suggests Canadian women are having fewer children than they really want.
A desire to have more money, wanting to focus on a career, lacking a suitable partner and grappling with housing costs are among the reasons cited by some women for not having more children, Cardus researchers found in the 2023 report on the topic.
Harrison said the Liberals are trying to "tweak this into some faux outrage about abortion or reproductive rights — that is disconnected from reality and the worst kind of divisive politics."
"Poilievre is giving voice to a very real concern," she said.
Melanee Thomas, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary who studies gender and politics, said fertility issues are "deeply intimate and deeply personal" for many women, and it's a risky political game to "safely use them as a talking point."
"Use the issue of fertility at your peril," she said in an interview. "For a lot of women, that's not going to land."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from the CBC's Ashley Burke, Marina von Stackelberg
Carney pledges $150M boost to 'underfunded' CBC
Liberal government would make the broadcaster's funding statutory
Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on Friday that his government would provide an initial $150-million annual funding increase to CBC and Radio-Canada as part of a new mandate for the public broadcaster.
"When we compare ourselves to the U.K., France or Germany, we see that our public broadcaster is underfunded," Carney said in French during a campaign stop in Montreal. "That has to change."
That initial funding top-up could rise, Carney said.
"We expect that in the coming years, we will continue to increase that funding until it can be compared to that provided by other public broadcasters."
Carney also said funding of the CBC and Radio-Canada would be made statutory, meaning any changes would have to be approved by Parliament, not just the government's cabinet.
"Canadians themselves and their entire Parliament must decide on the future of Radio-Canada/CBC — not ideologues," he said.
Carney
said on Friday that his government would provide an initial
$150-million annual funding increase to CBC and Radio-Canada as part of a
new mandate for the public broadcaster. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
A mandate to strengthen local news
Carney said these measures would be part of the development of the broadcaster's new mandate, which will require a level of long-term funding in line with that of other national public broadcasters.
The proposed mandate would also include strengthening local news with more local bureaus and reporters, and the clear and consistent transmission of life-saving information during emergencies.
CBC received an estimated $1.38-billion in 2024-25.
Carney's plans for the CBC contrast with those of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Poilievre has said he wants to defund the CBC while maintaining its French-language programming. However, the corporation has said such a move would require the Broadcasting Act, the law outlining its mandate, "to be rewritten."
The law requires the public broadcaster to provide programming in both French and English, and it does not give the government sway over how resources are allocated to accomplish that.
WATCH: Asked about Liberal CBC pledge, Poilievre says Carney spending will drive up debt
Asked about Liberal CBC pledge, Poilievre says Carney spending will drive up debtResponding to a reporter's question about Carney's announcement, Poilievre, campaigning in Trois-Rivières, Que., did not specifically address the issue of defunding the CBC. Instead, he said the proposed funding boost is just part of the Liberal government's overall record of excessive spending.
"And what is Mr. Carney proposing today? With a fourth Liberal term, he will spend even more for CBC and other things," Poilievre said.
In a statement Friday, CBC spokesperson Eric Wright said the broadcaster will not be commenting on the parties' positions regarding CBC/Radio-Canada during the election campaign.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from The Canadian Press
Carney pledges $150M boost for CBC. Poilievre slams Liberal spending.
What we learned from Radio-Canada's 'Cinq chefs' party leader interviews
Trump, the economy and the French language take centre stage
Full program: 'Cinq chefs, une élection' featuring main federal party leadersFrench-speaking Canadians got a first taste of how the five main federal party leaders defend their platforms beyond U.S. tariff threats in the span of two hours Thursday night on Radio-Canada's Cinq chefs, une élection program.
The show featured five live interviews with the five leaders. It kicked off with the Liberals' Mark Carney, followed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, then the Bloc Québécois's Yves-François Blanchet, NDP's Jagmeet Singh and lastly Green Party Co-leader Jonathan Pedneault.
The leaders talked Canadian (and Quebec) sovereignty and how they would defend Canadian interests in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump — but also how they would fix the current housing crisis, make life more affordable, support workers and protect jobs. And they talked about Canada and Quebec's place in a rapidly changing world.
Blanchet told hosts Céline Galipeau, Anne-Marie Dussault and Sébastien Bovet that it felt like the first day of the campaign to him because so much of the election's first two weeks have been focused on Trump's tariff threats, which were finally unveiled Wednesday.
All 5 federal leaders make their case in Radio-Canada interviewsCarney gives his French 'six out of 10'
The evening was also an opportunity to put Carney's French language skills to the test — which Blanchet had called into question when the Liberal leader turned down an invitation to a second French debate hosted by private Quebec television network TVA early in the campaign.
On that note, one of the last questions Carney was asked was how he would rate his French during the interview and, if elected, what level he'd aim to attain at the end of a first mandate.
Carney gave himself six out of 10 on his spoken French and said he'd want to be at an eight or nine in four years.
"I'm from Alberta. I'm 60 years old. I can still learn," Carney said, adding his comprehension is good and that he loves the language.
"I am far from perfect but I adore the language … I take part in meetings, I can negotiate in French. All of that," he said.
Carney rates his spoken French as a '6/10'Some of the tougher questions Carney had to answer involved Quebec, including why he wouldn't commit to creating legislation to protect supply management of poultry, dairy and eggs — major sectors in the province — and what Quebec represents to him.
Carney said that since he'd launched his Liberal leadership bid in January, that he'd been unequivocal about his position that supply management should be off the table in renegotiations of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Pressed on why he wouldn't propose a bill to protect supply management, he said "it's not necessary … the negotiation will start in a few weeks."
The Liberal leader was given some rapid-fire questions about his positions on various topics, some of which he hadn't yet spoken about in the campaign. Would Canada be willing to send troops to Ukraine? "It depends," he said, noting he's ready to join the France and United Kingdom-led "coalition of the willing."
Carney was also asked what he would tell Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the face of Israel's continued bombardment and renewed ground operation in Gaza.
He answered that "territorial integrity" is key in the situations of Gaza, Ukraine and Canada (with regards to Trump's 51st state threats).
"Second, we must make every effort to establish a ceasefire in Gaza and to resume humanitarian aid," he said.
When asked about a possible recession, Carney was reluctant to say it was a certainty for Canada. But he acknowledged the blanket tariffs imposed by Trump on dozens of countries Wednesday "are likely to cause a global recession, that's for sure. And that could cause a recession in the United States, in which case, here in Canada, it's very difficult."
Poilievre: Liberals weakened Canadian economy
Conservative
Leader Pierre Poilievre participates remotely via Oshawa, Ont., in the
Radio-Canada program Cinq chefs, une élection on Thursday, April 3,
2025. (Radio-Canada)
Up next, Poilievre — joining virtually from Oshawa, Ont. — repeated his assertion that the Liberal Party had weakened the Canadian economy, making it more difficult for the country to stand up to Trump and linked Carney to former prime minister Justin Trudeau's government, saying he has the "same policies, same ministers, same MPs."
The Conservative leader said Trump wanted to keep the Liberals in power for those reasons. He acknowledged his position as Opposition leader has put him at a disadvantage on foreign affairs, but brushed it off and said that's always the case for the Opposition.
He then listed a number of things he was willing to bring to the negotiating table with Trump, including expanding the Canadian military and improving border security, saying he could "take [them] away the moment Trump reneges on his promises."
Poilievre was asked about his position on Bill 21, Quebec's secularism law, which prohibits a number of public servants, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols.
The Conservative said that though he supports Quebec's value of state secularism, he opposes the law itself.
"I'll give you an example. There is an RCMP officer who protects my family who wears a turban. He's ready to save my life. He's ready to save my children's lives by giving his. Am I going to say he shouldn't have a job because he wears a turban? I don't agree with that," Poilievre said.
Singh later said he strongly agreed with Poilievre's answer.
On the expansion of the military, Poilievre said he would partly fund that by cutting down on foreign aid, though he didn't say by how much. He then repeated a statement he made early last year that the main organization providing aid in Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), is a "terrorist" organization.
Galipeau pushed back, saying any members of Hamas that had been found in the UN group had been ousted. But Poilievre doubled down, saying, "This has been known for decades."
Blanchet says Liberals favour Ontario over Quebec
Bloc
Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet smiles while being introduced
on the Radio-Canada program Cinq chefs, une élection on Thursday, April
3, 2025, in Montreal. (Radio-Canada)
Blanchet, whose Bloc Québécois, along with the NDP, has steadily lost support in public opinion polls this year in favour of the Liberals, softened his position on Carney's French Thursday, saying he would let Quebecers decide what they think of it.
But he reiterated an earlier statement that he knows Poilievre better than Carney, whom he accused of hiding his assets.
"We don't know the guy or his plan," Blanchet said.
He also accused the Liberals of prioritizing Ontario over other provinces, namely Quebec.
"In a Liberal caucus, the critical mass is in Ontario," he said.
Singh says policy wins weren't for gratitude
NDP
Leader Jagmeet Singh is interviewed on the Radio-Canada program Cinq
chefs, une élection on Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Montreal. (Radio-Canada)
Singh, too, has seen major declines in support for his party in public opinion polls since the new Liberal leader entered the ring.
Dussault asked him if Canadians lacked gratitude for the programs the NDP pushed the Liberals to create, including dental care and pharmacare.
"I don't do it for Canadians' gratitude," Singh said. "My mother taught me we're all one and it's for that reason that I went into politics."
He said many of the social programs Canadians use to differentiate themselves from Americans were created by the NDP.
Asked whether those programs had contributed to Canada's $62-billion deficit, Singh said his party had recommended places for the Liberals to cut on expenses, including in oil and gas subsidies and stopping the use of private consulting firms, but that they hadn't followed through on them.
On Quebec's Bill 21, Singh said he, like Poilievre, is opposed and would support constitutional challenges in court — but not on the province's recently revamped French-language legislation, Bill 96.
"I support the importance of defending the French language," he said.
Pedneault pitches national homebuilding program
Green
Party Co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault appears on the Radio-Canada program
Cinq chefs, une élection on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Montreal. (Radio-Canada)
Last but not least, Pedneault had one of his party's few opportunities in the limelight so far.
In what was likely an introduction to many French-speaking Canadians, Pedneault pitched his party's idea to create national "stocks" of Canadian resources, including lumber, aluminum and steel, that could then be used to build pre-fabricated housing.
He also said the Green Party would put an end to oil and gas subsidies and reorient jobs in the fossil fuel industry toward industries necessary for a green transition.
The Greens are also in favour of a cap on oil production.
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Carney, Singh pledge support for CBC to defend sovereignty, fight misinformation
OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Mark Carney and the NDP's Jagmeet Singh expressed support Friday for federal spending to ensure a strong national public broadcaster, a notion Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dismissed as something Canada simply can't afford.
On the federal election trail, Carney and Singh each said a healthy CBC/Radio-Canada is crucial to protecting the country's sovereignty in the face of attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump and the general rise of misinformation.
Poilievre has repeatedly spoken of his desire to "defund" the CBC while preserving its French-language services.
During a campaign visit to Montreal, Carney pledged to boost CBC/Radio-Canada's funding by an initial $150 million and enshrine its funding structure in law so that Parliament would have to approve any changes, while directing the corporation to develop a new strategic plan.
"We will modernize the mandate of our public broadcaster, we will give it the resources it needs to fulfil its renewed mission and ensure that its future is guided by all Canadians and not subject to the whims of a small group of people led by ideology," Carney said.
"Our plan will safeguard a reliable Canadian public square in a sea of misinformation and disinformation, so we can stay informed and tell our own stories in our own languages."
Singh, who was also campaigning in Montreal, said it's important to "invest significantly" in a reliable public broadcaster given the threats from misinformation and disinformation that endanger democracy, as well as Trump's assaults on Canadian sovereignty.
"CBC, as a public broadcaster, has been a fundamental part of celebrating Canadian culture, celebrating Quebec culture," Singh said.
The Canadian PressAsked about the issue Friday in Trois-Rivières, Que., Poilievre said his approach to the public broadcaster "won't have an impact on Radio-Canada."
He then took aim at Carney."We can't go on spending money we don't have on things we don't need, or our people are going to end up with even more brutal inflation," Poilievre said. "I will be cutting waste, bureaucracy, consultants, foreign aid and other unnecessary expenses to reduce taxes, debt and inflation. That's the choice in this election."
Carney said Canada's identity and institutions face foreign interference, and instead of defending them, Poilievre is following Trump's lead and "taking aim at our institutions like CBC/Radio-Canada."
He rejected Poilievre's plan to preserve only the broadcaster's French-language operations.
"You can't split this, baby. His attack on CBC is an attack directly on Radio-Canada, and it is an attack on our Canadian identity."
In Trois-Rivières, Poilievre promised to toughen the penalties for intimate partner violence if his party forms government after the April 28 election.He pledged to create a new criminal offence of assaulting an intimate partner, and to pass a law to require the strictest possible bail conditions for anyone accused of intimate partner violence.
Singh promised Friday that as prime minister he would close loopholes that allow corporations to put money in offshore accounts, and he took direct aim at Carney's work for Brookfield Asset Management.
Radio-Canada recently reported that the Liberal leader co-headed a pair of green investment funds worth a combined $25 billion that were headquartered in Bermuda — a country widely viewed as a global tax haven.
An NDP government would make companies provide a "genuine business reason" for having offshore accounts, Singh said.
The party would also end tax agreements with countries like Bermuda, review the tax code to find and close loopholes on corporate taxes and have public, country-by-country financial reporting.The NDP says Canada loses out on $39 billion annually in unpaid corporate taxes.
Singh said Brookfield avoided $5.3 billion in Canadian taxes between 2021 and 2024, money he says could have gone into funding things like health care and public transit in Canada.
Carney has said the investment funds are structured to avoid paying tax multiple times before ending up in the hands of the beneficiaries, which include Canadian pensioners. "It doesn’t avoid tax," he told reporters last week.
David Eby, British Columbia's New Democrat premier, is throwing his support behind Singh.
Eby appeared in a video posted on media alongside Singh, asking voters in B.C. to "re-elect NDP MPs to make sure they're out there advocating for Canadians every day."
Eby says in the video that the federal New Democrats warrant the support of voters after helping to deliver better dental care and pharmacare, which gives Canadians access to affordable medications.
— With files from Catherine Morrison, David Baxter, Kyle Duggan and Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa, Alessia Passafiume and Maura Forrest in Montreal and Pierre St-Arnaud in Trois-Rivières, Que.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2025.
Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
Untangling Mark Carney's father's ties to Fort Smith, N.W.T., Indian day school
Historians say Robert Carney's legacy needs discussing 'in productive ways that don't harm survivors'
Warning: this story contains outdated language and discusses physical and sexual abuse at residential schools.
It was March 1965, and Catholic educator Robert J. Carney had gone on CBC Radio to discuss his work as a federal day school principal in the Northwest Territories. Today, it's an interview some may find jarring.
"Mr. Carney, at the teachers conference not long ago, you told about a program you have working at the Joseph B. Tyrrell (JBT) school in Fort Smith for culturally retarded children," the host began. "First of all, would you define a culturally retarded child for me?"
The reply was unequivocal and direct.
"A culturally retarded child in the context of the Northwest Territories is a child from a Native background who for various reasons has not been in regular attendance in school," said Carney.
"He's from a language background other than English and who is behind in school, say three or four years. In many centres in southern Canada, the subculture groups, say in the working-class area of a large city, you would have children who you would call culturally retarded."
Sixty years later, Liberal Leader Mark Carney's father is generating debate among First Nations people. Posts circulating online have incorrectly called him an Indian residential school principal.
While that's false, it's true that the Joseph Burr Tyrrell school was officially recognized under a 2019 class-action settlement as a federal Indian day school between 1948 and 1969, when it was transferred to the territory.
And it's also true Indigenous children from Fort Smith's Grandin College and Breynat Hall residential schools attended the day school during Carney's principalship, which began in 1962, according to his thesis and historical records reviewed by CBC Indigenous.
"The school in question was a combined school," said Crystal Gail Fraser, who is Gwichyà Gwich'in and an associate professor in history and Indigenous studies at the University of Alberta.
"You had this mix of white settler kids and Indigenous kids who lived in Fort Smith, plus all of the children from Breynat Hall, the residential school nearby."
Robert Carney on Indigenous schooling in N.W.T.Along with historians Jackson Pind and Sean Carleton, Fraser co-authored an article in the blog Active History this week about Robert Carney's legacy. They told CBC Indigenous much remains unknown about day schools — Fort Smith's federal school records remain restricted at the national archives in Ottawa, for instance — rendering the full truth elusive.
"We're trying to have these discussions in productive ways that don't harm survivors as we get to the truth," said Pind, an assistant professor at Trent University's Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies.
"Looking at our legacy as Canadians, we're all kind of tangled in this web of colonial schooling, both Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people."
Untangling the web
Carney's comments in the radio interview reflect assimilationist attitudes common in Canadian society in 1965 generally and among educators specifically, said Pind, who has mixed settler-Anishinaabe ancestry from Alderville First Nation.
"That's obviously a very harmful comment," he said, noting teachers then also commonly described their Indigenous pupils as "backwards."
In the 2019 settlement, Ottawa acknowledged the Indian day school system divided children from their families, denied them their heritage and subjected many to physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Later in the radio interview, Carney says, "We want them to not forget their origins, or not to forget their backgrounds and to instill in them a sense of pride and a sense of belonging: that the culture from which they come is a good culture."
The
cover page from the 1963 Borean, which was posted to social media in
2022. A page with just the principal's message was posted again this
year. (Memories of Fort Smith NT/Facebook)
Robert Carney may indeed have left a complicated legacy, the historians said. As a divisive election heats up, they were quick to argue the father's sin should not be laid on the son — but they also said Mark Carney should still speak out and address his father's legacy.
A Liberal spokesperson did not do that directly in a provided statement.
"The residential and day school systems are an undeniably painful chapter in our country's history, with real harms that last to this day. In his first weeks as prime minister, Mark Carney has taken important steps to ensure that advancing reconciliation is a foundational commitment of our new government," wrote Jenna Ghassabeh.
A Carney government would be informed by Indigenous perspective to understand these deep and lasting injustices and commit to the important work outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, she added.
From principal to scholar
Robert Carney became chief superintendent of schools in N.W.T. from 1969 to 1971. From 1973 to 1975, he was executive director of the Northern Development Council of Alberta. He was acting director general for Indian Affairs in Alberta in 1976.
In a 1991 church-commissioned study, Carney interviewed 240 former residential school students, eventually reporting allegations of extreme physical abuse and 15 alleged instances of sexual abuse at eight Western Arctic residential schools.
"There is no doubt whatsoever that they have been scarred by what was done to them or by what they had witnessed," the then-professor at the University of Alberta told the Canadian Press.
A
"Tour of Edmonton" article in the Aurora recounts a trip organized by
principal Robert Carney and Grandin College staff in spring 1965. (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation)
But after the papers published explosive headlines about priests and rape, Carney clarified that, in his view, it wasn't just an "abuse report." He wanted to focus on the good.
"A number of interviewees expressed positive comments about their experiences in residential schools and hostels, while others deplored what they described as the excessive attention given to negative incidents related to these institutions," he wrote to the Edmonton Journal.
Sean Carleton, a settler historian and associate professor at University of Manitoba, echoed the need to grapple with Robert Carney's role in and defence of this system without descending into partisanship.
"We can learn about Robert Carney's complicity in this system. We can challenge his comments defending residential schools as denialism. We can press Mark Carney to do better on truth and reconciliation," said Carleton.
On early schools and RCAP
After the church study, Robert Carney went on to argue much of what pre-Confederation missionaries did concerning Indigenous schooling "was intended to help Native people to adjust to a changing environment."
"Those who 'came to teach' European values and skills to aboriginal people during the period [...] often failed to achieve their objectives," he wrote in 1995, "but their efforts in this regard cannot be viewed as being wholly destructive or ill-intended."
The paper is typical of the era, said Mary Jane Logan McCallum, professor at University of Winnipeg and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous People, History and Archives.
She was a student at the time and remembers being assigned articles like Carney's. It was also time when lawsuits were hitting churches, "which made for more of this kind of apologist backlash," she said by email.
The Fort Smith federal school, named the Joseph Burr Tyrrell school in
1963, is seen in 1961. (NWT Archives/Dr. Wyn Rhys-Jones
collection/N-2013-003:0171)
"We know now and Canadians knew then that the schools were purposely underfunded by churches and by the federal government; we know that due to this there was suffering," wrote McCallum, a member of the Munsee-Delaware Nation.
"We know that the schools intentionally played a role in cultural destruction and linguicide. We know there is a need for reparations both for the past and in terms of our current relations and so it matters that our prime minister engages with this central question."
Carney's scholarship on this topic continued. He criticized the sweeping 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples as one-sided and imbalanced.
"The problem is that the Aboriginal perspective dominates virtually everything that is said," Carney wrote. Consequently, he added, "Aboriginal residential schools are invariably cast in an unfavourable light."
"This is clearly a slanted account of these institutions, and therefore should be viewed cautiously because, to cite one of its problems, it tells only part of the story."
Pind called it frustrating to see a non-Indigenous person criticizing the first major Indigenous-led report examining relations with the state as "slanted" because it comes from an Indigenous perspective.
It remains unclear, the historians said, whether Robert Carney's views evolved after this, when the Indian residential schools settlement was reached in 2006. He died in 2009 in Nanaimo, B.C.
A national 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available at 1-866-925-4419 for emotional and crisis referral services for survivors and those affected.
Mental health counselling and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat.
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Carney's green funds at Brookfield used Bermuda tax haven to attract investors
Liberal leader says funds go to Canadian entities that 'pay the taxes appropriately'
In his time at Brookfield Asset Management, Liberal Leader Mark Carney personally co-chaired two investment funds dedicated to the transition to a net-zero carbon economy, worth a total of $25 billion.
Those funds were registered in Bermuda, among other locations, allowing investors to benefit from significant tax advantages, according to information obtained by Radio-Canada.
The funds created while Carney was on Brookfield's board of directors are the Brookfield Global Transition Fund ($15 billion) and the Brookfield Global Transition Fund II ($10 billion), launched in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
According to the Ontario Business Registry, the funds were registered in Bermuda under the names of BGTF Bermuda GP Ltd. and BGTF II Bermuda GP Ltd.
In both cases, the provincial registry indicates that the "governing jurisdiction" for the corporations is located in Bermuda.
Tax havens widely used
The legal structure of the Brookfield funds is complex and includes many jurisdictions. However, experts say their registration in Bermuda raises questions about Carney's approach to fiscal policy in Canada.
"All sorts of companies are doing this … but [Brookfield] are one of the biggest users of this kind of scheme," said Silas Xuereb, policy analyst with the group Canadians for Tax Fairness.
He says he hopes the next federal government will impose new limits on the use of tax havens, in particular by ending bilateral agreements with countries like Bermuda and strengthening international treaties to curb tax evasion.
Xuereb said it may seem "ironic" that environmental funds were registered in a tax haven.
But he said Carney was understandably motivated by profit in the private sector, and hopes that the Liberal leader "will have very different goals now that he is in political power."
Political analyst Silas Xuereb says the revelations raise questions
about Carney's approach to fiscal policy in Canada. (Submitted by Silas
Xuereb)
On Wednesday afternoon, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said "[Carney's] company, under his watch, put money in Bermuda to avoid paying taxes. All while Liberals force Canadians to pay higher taxes, Mark Carney dodges the bill himself. He thinks millionaires like him shouldn't have to pay."
Poilievre also said after U.S. President Donald Trump began threatening Canada's economy, he sold his own investments in "foreign economies."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized Carney and said the Liberal leader "chose to register [the funds] in another country to avoid paying those taxes. That's less money for health care. Less money for seniors. That's less investments in our country."
According to press releases issued by Brookfield at the time, BGTF and BGTF II were "co-headed" by Carney. The other manager of the funds was Connor Teskey, CEO of Brookfield Renewable Power.
During a news conference in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday morning, Carney said the "structure of these funds is designed to benefit the Canadian pension funds that invest in them," citing the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.
"I understand how the world works and how these structures work," Carney said.
The taxes are paid in Canada, Carney added, because the "flow through of the funds go to Canadian entities who pay the taxes appropriately, as opposed to taxes being paid multiple times before they get there."
A spokesperson for the Liberal Party refused to answer questions about Carney's activities at Brookfield or whether he had assets in tax havens before they were placed in a blind trust.
"Mr. Carney worked for Brookfield from August 2020 to January 2025, and has not been involved with the firm since. Any questions specifically related to Brookfield should be sent to the firm," said the spokesperson, Mohammad Hussain.
In a statement in 2024, Carney said that "the Brookfield Global Transition Fund strategy is aiming to deliver strong risk-adjusted financial returns for investors and make meaningful environmental impacts for people and the planet."
Located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda ranks among the largest tax havens in the world. Investments from Canada to the country have increased from $10 billion in 2011 to more than $130 billion in 2023.
The issue of tax havens often raises passions in federal politics. Former prime minister Paul Martin was notably targeted by the Conservatives over his shipping company's use of tax havens.
In a report published in 2023, the Center for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research criticized Brookfield's tax policies, including the use of entities in Bermuda.
The firm responded that it complied with all tax rules, explaining that the company manages large infrastructure companies that pay their taxes in the jurisdiction where they are located.
"We would also note that jurisdictions around the world have substantially different corporate tax rates and offer important tax incentives for investment, for example in sectors such as renewable energy in which Brookfield is a recognized global leader," the firm said.
In a press release earlier this month, the NDP stated that Brookfield's use of tax havens has led to the loss of billions in corporate taxes.
In a statement, NDP MP Niki Ashton called on Carney "to come clean on his role in Brookfield's exploitative practices to dodge paying their taxes in Canada while working Canadians pay theirs."
Corrections
- A previous version of this story said Xuereb was a political analyst with the group Canadians for Fair Taxation. In fact, Xuereb's group is called Canadians for Tax Fairness.Mar 26, 2025 3:52 PM ADT
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